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U.S., ACLU Ask Court to Overturn Alabama Immigration Laws

Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Alabama’s new immigration laws,
including a measure making it a felony for illegal aliens to do
business with the state, are unconstitutional, the U.S. told a
federal appeals court.

The U.S., which is seeking reversal of a Birmingham,
Alabama, federal judge’s Sept. 28 ruling allowing the state to
enforce that provision and others, filed a brief yesterday with
the Atlanta-based appeals court. The American Civil Liberties
Union also made a filing opposing the law.

“The Constitution leaves no room for such a state
immigration-enforcement scheme,” the federal government argued
in its brief. Admission and removal of aliens and the conditions
under which they’re allowed to live in the U.S. are matters of
national policy, according to the brief.

The Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection
Act, signed into law by Governor Robert J. Bentley on June 9,
requires public schools to determine the immigration status of
newly enrolled students and their parents, and it criminalizes
unlawful residents’ failure to carry registration papers.

On Oct. 14, the appellate court issued an order blocking
those provisions while it reviews the rulings of U.S. District
Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn in Birmingham.

Temporarily Blocked

While Blackburn had temporarily blocked parts of the
measure that prohibit the harboring and transport of those who
unlawfully enter the country, she allowed the state to enforce
measures enabling police to question the status of people
stopped for suspicious behavior and to take people arrested for
driving without a license before a magistrate for determination
of their status.

Joy Patterson, a spokeswomen for Alabama Attorney General
Luther Strange, said the state had no immediate comment on the
federal government’s submission or that of the ACLU.

“We will continue to vigorously defend the law as we
proceed through the appeals process,” Strange said in an Oct.
14 statement after an appellate panel blocked enforcement of
parts of the law.

Alabama, which is also appealing some of Blackburn’s
rulings, has argued that it is filling gaps in federal
enforcement efforts.

The state’s brief is due next month, Patterson said.

Bentley, a Republican serving his first term in office, has
said the state will defend the legislation against any and all
challenges.

ACLU Brief

The ACLU said in its separately filed brief that the laws
are designed to make daily living so difficult for undocumented
workers that they will leave the state.

Under the law, a person who is seeking citizenship can be
charged with a felony for paying a water bill, the ACLU said.

“This is a direct regulation of immigration as it
effectively expels immigrants from Alabama by depriving them of
the necessities of life,” the ACLU said.

The state has no legal reason or interest to regulate or
establish hindrances to negotiating daily activities “aside
from a desire to drive immigrants out of the State of Alabama,”
the ACLU said.

The cases are U.S. v. State of Alabama, 11-14532, and
Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama v. Bentley, 11-14535,
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit (Atlanta).